Swiss urged to toughen anti-corruption law

Tuesday

GENEVA (AP) - Advocacy group Transparency International is criticizing Swiss law as too soft on financial corruption.

GENEVA (AP) — Advocacy group Transparency International is criticizing Swiss law as too soft on financial corruption.

Switzerland has toughened its stance against money laundering in recent years, but Transparency International says the country still makes it too easy for corrupt businessmen to hide money behind secret companies because the law does not require full disclosure of the identities of everyone who controls or owns companies.

The group called a news conference in the Swiss capital Bern and released a statement Tuesday urging the famously discreet Swiss to collect that information and make it accessible to law enforcement through public registers.

Eric Martin, chair of Transparency International Switzerland, said the country "needs to extend the scope of its anti-money laundering legislation" to reduce illicit flows from bribery, abuse of power and secret deals.